Interaction of iron and folate during reproduction
O'Connor, Deborah Louise
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19055
Description
Title
Interaction of iron and folate during reproduction
Author(s)
O'Connor, Deborah Louise
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Picciano, Mary Frances
Department of Study
Food Science and Human Nutrition
Discipline
Food Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Agriculture, Animal Culture and Nutrition
Language
eng
Abstract
Previously we reported that rat pups nursed by either severely or moderately iron-deficient dams were folate depleted at day 17 of lactation even when maternal animals were fed twice the National Research Council's recommended amount of folate (J. Nutr. 117: 1715; J. Nutr. 113: 2471). Folate status of iron-deficient (Fe$-$) pups at day 2 were similar to iron-sufficient (Fe+) pups indicating in utero accretion of folate is not impaired secondary to maternal iron deficiency. The first goal of this dissertation research was to investigate whether decreased milk folate secretion, decreased milk intake or decreased folate absorption secondary to maternal iron deficiency is responsible for impaired neonatal folate utilization. The second goal of this research was to determine the feasibility of using the pig as an animal model for studying iron and folate metabolism during reproduction. Results from this research provide evidence that depressed milk folate secretion is an early manifestation of maternal iron deficiency which is amplified as lactation progresses. We found that total milk folate contents were 29%, 42% and 81% lower in Fe$-$ compared to Fe+ rat dams on days 7, 12 and 17 of lactation, respectively. In addition, the concentration of total lipid and iron in milk from Fe$-$ dams was significantly lower than that of Fe+ dams. Iron-deficient nurslings compensate for reduced milk energy by increasing milk intake in late lactation; however, milk intake of Fe$-$ pups was not increased to a level needed to compensate for the observed reductions in either milk iron or milk folate. Reduced substrate (folate) supply to the mammary gland is not responsible for decreased milk folate secretion secondary to iron deficiency; rather the mammary gland is the site of the defect. Iron deficiency in the rat pup did not impair the rate of absorption of folate from the jejunum. As with the rat, iron nutrition does influence folate utilization of maternal and neonatal swine. Since the requirement for folate and iron have not been determined with any degree of certainty, establishment of these nutrient requirements during reproduction will provide normative data that will prove worthwhile in using the pig as a model to study the iron-folate interrelationship.
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